BY LIZ MCCARY, VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING | SOUTH CAROLINA – Ryan McCue, ALC of Colliers – South Carolina brokered the sale of a 4.75-acre parcel of land at 680 Candi Lane in Columbia, across the river from where the West Columbia Pedestrian Bridge will be built. The site is to be developed into a biergarten and pickleball courts, called PickleGarden on the River. Colliers represented the buyer, Pickleball Land Holdings LLC. Click here for link

The property is situated along the Saluda River, a short distance from the award-winning Riverbanks Zoo.

The development will include 12 spacious pickleball courts, 10,000 square feet of turf and biergarten space, 2,240 square feet of mixed-use space to be utilized as a members lounge or event space, a 3,600-square-foot, climate-controlled indoor/outdoor space overlooking the venue and access to the Riverwalk on the Lower Saluda River. PickleGarden will be the only food and drink establishment on the same side of the Interstate 126 exit as the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. The facility is planned to be in operation by the end of 2024.

According to a report published by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, Pickleball participation has grown 158.6% over the last three years and continues to be the fastest-growing sport in the United States with the South Atlantic region seeing the most growth. The SFIA also reports that many of the largest metropolitan cities in the US are not meeting the demand for pickleball courts creating a large opportunity for new facility developments.

“This property has generated a lot of excitement. Positioned along the Saluda River above Millrace Rapids, it will be one of the only commercially developed, private tracts utilizing one of the three under-utilized Columbia rivers,” said McCue, Senior Brokerage Associate in Colliers’ Columbia office. “The Riverwalk runs along the water’s edge and will eventually allow for pedestrians and cyclists to navigate from the Lake Murray Dam on the Saluda River all the way to the former SCE&G/Dominion Energy campus in Cayce along the Congaree River. PickleGarden on the River is adjacent to a new City of Columbia park and a future footbridge connecting to the other side of the river.”